Organic Monitor press release

According to the FAO (United Nations), about a third of food produced for human consumption is lost or wasted in the supply chain. With food companies and retailers under pressure to become more efficient and reduce losses, many are re-directing food waste from landfill. A transition is occurring whereby waste previously going to low-end applications – such as animal feed and biogas – is making its way into new ingredients.

Novel ingredients are being created from food waste as new technologies improve extraction and processing methods. For instance, the Swiss company FoodSolutionsTeam is using green chemistry to extract active materials from food side streams. Made from carrot pulp, its KaroPRO ingredient has water binding applications in processed foods. The Swiss company has similar food ingredients made from organic linseed, peas and rice. Phytonext is another company using new extraction techniques to produce ingredients from citrus peel and tomato waste.

The EU is also funding research to create new ingredients from food waste. The BIORICE project involves extracting starch from rice waste to make ingredients for functional foods, nutraceuticals and cosmetics. Another project, APROPOS, involves taking proteins from salmon and rapeseed waste for cosmetic applications. A Spanish …